[Foundation-l] Re: Copyright issues...walking on thin ice

Wed Aug 11 08:31:18 UTC 2004

Andre Engels wrote in part:

>Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales wrote:

>>It would be perfectly fine *under the terms of the license* for us to
>>put any sort of image in an article, for example, images that are
>>licensed solely to us, or images that the Foundation itself owns
>>(works for hire, say) and simply publishes under default copyright.

>I think this is a self-destructive interpretation of the license. Because
>if I can include a picture in this way, then why not text? That would make
>the by some lauded 'viral' aspect of the license just a dead letter - I can
>just use parts of a Wikipedia article, specify which they are and keep
>those under GNU/FDL, then incorporate them into my own copyright work.

This is fine (both legally IMO but IANAL, and ethically IMO but IANRMS),
as long as you keep the Wikipedia parts clearly separate from your material
(and also include the FDL notice for the Wikipedia excerpts, of course).
What you can't do under this scheme is to intermingle the article excerpts
with your own words -- without placing your own words under the licence.

For example, you can say something like this:

 I like carrots.  Carrots are yummy.  I saw a carrot on TV once.
 This rabbit ate a carrot and called this bald man a doctor,
 even though he wasn't a doctor but really a hunter instead.
 That rabbit is so funny!!!

 Here are more interesting facts about carrots:

   Carrots are often eaten raw, whole or shaved into salads for
   color, and are often cooked in soups and stews. One can also
   make carrot cake. The greens are not generally eaten in most
   cultures, but are edible.

   Together with onion and celery, carrots are one of the primary
   vegetables used in a mirepoix to make various broths. Beta
   carotene or Vitamin A, which gives this vegetable its
   characteristic orange colour, is thought to enhance the performance of
   receptors on the retina and thus improve eyesight. Carrots are also
   rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants, and minerals and are an
   alkaline food.

   Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot",
   available under version 1.2 of the GNU FDL.

 I got these facts from this weird site on the Internet which is free.
 Those guys must be crazy; I'm sure not going to make MY stuff free!
 My text is copyright 2004 by Toby Bartels, all rights reserved.
 Take that suckaz!!!

Now, this example doesn't really comply with the FDL,
because just saying "available under version 1.2 of the GNU FDL"
is not enough; you need to quote the entire licence somewhere
(and I'm not even going to touch the list-five-authors business).
But even with this (rather gross legally) deficiency,
the example is still harmless to the licence's viral nature.

Or try it the other way:

 Carrots are often eaten raw, whole or shaved into salads for
 color, and are often cooked in soups and stews. One can also
 make carrot cake. The greens are not generally eaten in most
 cultures, but are edible.

   I like carrots.  Carrots are yummy.  I saw a carrot on TV once.
   This rabbit ate a carrot and called this bald man a doctor,
   even though he wasn't a doctor but really a hunter instead.
   That rabbit is so funny!!!

 Together with onion and celery, carrots are one of the primary
 vegetables used in a mirepoix to make various broths. Beta
 carotene or Vitamin A, which gives this vegetable its
 characteristic orange colour, is thought to enhance the performance of
 receptors on the retina and thus improve eyesight. Carrots are also
 rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants, and minerals and are an
 alkaline food.

 Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot",
 available under version 1.2 of the GNU FDL.

Again far short of the requirements of the FDL (as interpreted by Jimbo)
but still harmless.

On the other hand, suppose you intermingle the text:

 Carrots are often eaten raw, especially by funny rabbits on TV,
 and are often cooked in soups and stews, the method preferred
 by bald hunters.

In this example (which also falls short of the full requirements),
I have no choice but to put the whole thing under the GNU FDL.
Any failure in this respect will incur a serious violation of the licence --
even as Jimbo interprets it.

-- Toby

PS:  Despite what I may have written above for illustrative purposes,
     I /actually/ reserve no legal rights whatsoever to any of this post,
     just as I reserve no legal rights whatsoever to any of my creative work.